Buena Park School District will start its 2020-21 school year on Tuesday, Aug. 11 with three weeks of distance learning as part of a plan to keep the community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The District has a five-phase plan to shift students back onto campus, including minimum days, blended learning for online and in-person learning and staggered lunch periods.
Four Buena Park School District teachers have received the 2020 Mathspace Esteemed Educator Award for their skill in boosting understanding of math concepts to students through personalized instruction. Mathspace recognized teachers Sean Hamilton, Courtney Hsu, Scott Magnin and Jon Christensen on July 6, making Buena Park School District one of only two districts in California to earn four Esteemed Educator Awards. Mathspace is an adaptive online math platform used by students worldwide that helps replicate the experience of having a teacher conduct a lesson in person. The program became a highly effective tool when the District transitioned to distance learning in March.
For more than 20 years, Gilbert School kindergarten teacher Leslee Milch has connected with underserved Buena Park School District students and promoted literacy through her summer reading program, Read With Me! Partnering with the City of Buena Park, Milch is leading a scaled-down, socially distanced program each week this summer at Bellis Park that is limited to 10 students who must reserve a spot online. Healthy snacks and parenting classes are provided free of charge, and the Buena Park Library bookmobile provides bags of books to students. Readings are held Wednesdays throughout July.
Buena Park School District’s nutrition services department has given out more than 260,000 meals to students and their families, providing them with fruits, vegetables and protein to maintain healthy lifestyles since the start of the stay-at-home order. Child Nutrition Director Katrina Butler said the District has gone above and beyond the goal of just handing out food to students and has expanded to feed entire families through its meal distribution program.
Buena Park School District will provide free summer drive-thru meals from 10:30 a.m. to noon to children ages 18 and younger Monday through Thursday through Tuesday, June 30 at Gilbert School, 7255 8th St., Buena Park.
Emery School was alive with cheers, dancing and applause during its drive-thru promotion ceremonies, which congratulated fifth- and sixth-grade students on completing a milestone in their educational journeys. The school held a morning ceremony for 92 fifth-graders and an evening ceremony for 86 sixth-graders on May 28, giving students one more chance to see their friends and thank their teachers. Sixth-grader Noelani Canotal gave her teachers a friendly “hang 10” hand sign during the ceremony and thanked them for preparing her classmates and her for middle school. Canotal said she is looking forward to attending Beatty Middle School in 2020-21.
Career Technical Educator Shelley Andros thrives on helping her students find their passions, saying that her profession is more of a calling in keeping with the maxim “Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Her exemplary work ethic at Buena Park Junior High has earned her the title of 2021 Teacher of the Year award from the Orange County Department of Education. The award winners were announced virtually in May.
Buena Park School District will offer a special program of online instructional materials, supplies and support to families who want their children to continue distance learning in 2020-21 even after schools are allowed to reopen. The Board of Education unanimously voted to create the Academy for Accelerated Learning at the Buena Park Learning Center on May 11. The academy has a July 1 launch date and was created to add an additional level of safety for the community in regard to COVID-19.
478 Buena Park Junior High students and their families cheered, fist-pumped and honked their car horns during two days of drive-thru promotion ceremonies, as they poured onto campus with vehicles adorned with balloons, colorful signs and creative decorations to commemorate the class of 2020. Guests toured the highly decorated grounds on May 20 and 21, when they were met with cheerful chalk messages, music and applauding teachers and administrators. Students and their families wore masks and followed social distancing rules to maintain safety.
Two Buena Park School District student-made videos that encourage empathy and compassion toward people experiencing mental health issues received honorable mentions in the statewide Directing Change film contest. Winners were announced virtually in May. Whitaker School and Buena Park Junior High received the honors from the film contest sponsored by nonprofit Directing Change, a leader in statewide efforts to prevent suicide and reduce the stigma related to mental health awareness.
